


Secrets Better Left Untold

by Starwannawrite



Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship/Love, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25031962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starwannawrite/pseuds/Starwannawrite
Summary: I have been running away my whole life - from people, from so-called friends, from very genuine enemies - from myself and the warped reality fate wound around me. But when the same frickin' fate puts you face-to-face with the one person you've been trying to avoid your whole life - well, one of them, I suppose - and whom you are not ready to hurt despite them having broken you a long time back, I guess your best bet is to look the other way while crossing your fingers and praying that he doesn't notice you. Well, if his bitbeast still remembers and your bit's an annoying matchmaker... there will be utter chaos - and your world will change, for better or worse.I have no idea why I took up Mr. Dickenson's proposal of becoming a WBBA trainee blader under the Young Talent program - accompanying the Japanese National Team on their journey across the world and working undercover to protect them from a certain sadist's plans. As if being an elite field agent wasn't bad enough. Now I have to be painfully conscious of HIM, as well as control my own blood-lust and some other... stupid feelings.
Relationships: OC/Kai Hiwatari





	1. ~Recollection~

**_RECOLLECTION_ **

(Time's POV)

_They had told her not to cross the spiked fence going around the fort. They had ordered her not to. But she crossed it anyway. She had to know what was there on the other side of that giant fence, in that frozen wasteland._

_She had disobeyed direct orders._

_And now here she was, staring daggers at the other person. "You threw me." She stated in a matter-of-fact way, peering at him through her hair. "Why did you throw me?" She demanded, trying to push away the wet hair clinging to her face. The boy crinkled his nose, "I didn't 'throw' you, you slipped."_

_"Don't lie." A tiny finger stabbed pointedly towards the accused, "I saw you launch your beyblade at me. I tried to get out of its way and fell into that lake."_

_"That means you accidentally slipped."_

_"No, I didn't."_

_"Did."_

_"Didn't!"_

_"Did!"_

_"You threw me into the lake!" She knew that her choice of words was wrong...but hell! Who cared? The one being accused folded his arms and glared at the accuser. The accuser glared back._

_The culprit finally broke eye contact and threw up his arms in defeat,"Fine! It was a dumb prank anyway. Why were you flailing about in the lake, huh? Don't you know how to swim?"_

_"I can swim."_

_The boy smirked,"Then?"_

_"My arm's not working."_

_"Oh. Let me see." The boy bent down to take a closer look,"Which one?" The younger child pointed towards her left arm, which was noticeably swollen and red. The boy poked it, making her yelp and bite her lip in pain. "It's broken," He mumbled. "How did this," he indicated the swollen part, "happen?" The child kept quiet. She never told anyone if she ever got hurt. If she did, they would look up the activity which caused it and then make her do it a hundred more times, to help her get 'strong'. She had learned it the hard way._

_She eyed the older boy warily._

_In absence of an answer, he simply shrugged and started collecting some twigs and small branches. She quietly studied him. She had never seen him before. Maybe he was from that place her parents-no, the doctors were always talking and shouting about..._

_The boy looked around for a while, then sighed and took off his white scarf. He tore the scarf into long strips, then used the strips and the twigs to make some sort of a crude arm support._

_"But, your scarf..."the wide-eyed child tried to object._

_" Snagged on a few branches and tore," The boy replied, helping her injured arm into the arm support._

_The child chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. She finally looked up._

_"That's not a very good excuse."_

_"I know."_

_The child stood up unsteadily, "Where's your bey?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"The beyblade you launched at me."_

_"Oh." The boy looked towards the lake,"It must have sunk to the bottom by now. Never mind. It was a practice bey anyway. Forget about it." The child glanced in his direction, then started walking towards the lake,_

_" I'll go get it."_

_" Huh? But, your arm's broken."_

_"I can manage, I think."_

_"You THINK? I had to literally haul you out of the lake. That bey doesn't even have a Bitbeast in it."_

_"Not the bey's fault."_

_"But, you can't even swim an inch with that arm of yours!"_

_" I can use my legs."_

_" What are you, a mermaid? Why are you trying to kill yourself over a practice bey?"_

_"A blader has no right to abandon his own bey," she replied, looking straight into his eyes,"Even if it's a practice one."_

_There was no reply as she trudged down to the lake. Just as she reached the edge, she felt a gentle hold on her shoulders._

_"Do you really think so?" his voice was eerily quiet. She hadn't even heard him come._

_"Of course!" she was surprised. Wasn't that every blader's rule? The gentle hold on her shoulders grew firmer."Come on." He pushed her away from the ice-cold lake. "Walk with me."_

_"No," she tried to turn,"I need to go back." She kicked at his legs, making him lose his balance and fall down._

_"Wait." He clutched her sore left wrist. She hissed. He let go with a silent apology and took something out of his pocket,"Stop trying to jump into the lake, okay? I have my bey with me, see?" The child looked at the bey, its metallic artwork glinting in the sun. She raised her eyebrows. "I brought it back when I pulled you out of the lake," the boy explained, his expression neutral._

_"That's good," the child brushed the snow off her clothes and turned away," Shows that you aren't as careless as you look."She began to walk away._

_" Kai."_

_"Huh?" She turned back._

_"The name's Kai. What's your name, kid?"_

_The child looked at the older boy, then mumbled,"Ayuri."_

_"EH?" Kai looked as if he had hit a brick wall, face first._

_"Got a problem?"_

_"No... I thought you are a guy." Kai looked, well, embarrassed._

_She smirked,"Shows your level of intelligence."_

_Kai made a face at her. She shrugged nonchalantly,"Catch you sometime."_

_The snow crunched under her boots as she walked away._


	2. The Mess That Is Life

**The Mess That Is Life**

(OC's POV)

"... we will arrive at Tokyo International Airport shortly. Please... "

My eyes jerked open when the plane lurched.

**_~Wake up, sleepyhead...~_ **

"I am already awake," I answered irritatedly under my breath.

**_Ooh... don't worry. It's just a little lurching. Don't feel afraid. I'm here for you._ **

I had a sudden urge to throw the bey in my pocket across the plane and tell it to shut up. But such strange behavior would attract unwanted attention and I might get questioned about why I was talking to an 'inanimate' object.

**_Right, that might pose a problem for you._ The voice chuckled. _Wouldn't want people to think that you're crazy. By the way, this 'inanimate' bey is not an 'it', this bey's a 'she'._**

I sighed,"Could you stop talking?"

**_Do not make futile requests, child._ **

There. I resigned myself to my bey's 'holier than thou' mood she was in and the pounding headache that came with it. I only hoped that the hotel would have good coffee and a library nearby.

**_Someone's daydreaming... reality check! You have to report to Mr. Dickenson immediately after arriving at the airport._ **

Right. I leaned back in defeat. Today was gonna be a long, long day.

_**I know, right?**_ My partner sympathized.

My beyblade is called Artemis, after the Greek goddess of archery and the forest. To tell the truth, my Bitbeast is Artemis herself, but she hates being called a Bitbeast. In her opinion, calling the ruler of all Bitspirits a Bitbeast would be... wrong. I disagree.

I quietly listened to her chatter and found myself drifting off. Scenes from my life played before my eyes - good ones, bad ones. It felt as if I was sinking into a bottomless pit, weighted with those memories.

**_...get out of there, YOU BAKA!_ **

Who? The voice felt so far away...

**_OUT!_ **

I jerked awake for the second time, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

**_Walking down memory lane, are we now?_ **Her voice was terse.

"Maybe." I shook away the foggy remnants and stared straight ahead. I felt my partner tense up. She was worried about me - about what some memories did to me.

**_Are you sure this is a good idea?_ **

"What are you talking about? "

**_Coming back to Japan._** Her voice was quiet.

"Well... "

**_What if you bump into him?_ **

"Japan's a fairly big country. Also, if we do, I doubt that he will remember."

She was silent for a while. I looked out of the window.

_**You don't believe that.** _

"I... hm." She knew me too well. I quietly admired the aerial view - the wild, sometimes calm ocean, stretching out to all directions like a blue canvas. This canvas was not blank - it was ever changing, with little white ridges and navy coloured spots which would be, in reality, big waves and places where the ocean was deeper. From above, the vast ocean seemed collected, I noted, and still somewhat detached.

**_Like you._** "Go to sleep."

**_I can't._ **

"Why?"

**_I have jet lag._ **

I resisted the urge to snort,"Jet lag happens after travel, not during it."

**_Oh._** She was unfazed. **_Then maybe it's some unknown sleep disorder Bitspirits have when they are on a plane?_** I mentally shook my head.

"Stop being such a worrywart, Yumi."

My Bitspirit's name is Artemis, but for some reason, she hates being called by that name. So, she had told me to use some other name for her and only call her 'Artemis' during a beybattle. She had made me dig through tons of Japanese names - God knows why - and get her one 'befitting her status', as she puts it. Finally, we settled on Mayumi. She felt that it spoke of her spot-on accuracy. Then, believe it or not, she asked for a nickname. The conversation went something like this:

**_Now, I need a nickname!_ **

"Why would you need a nickname? You already have a name."

**_'Mayumi' is for special occasions._ **

"Like?"

**_Like when you are angry and need to scream at me._ **

"And a nickname is necessary for?"

_T **his is necessary for other situations. For example, you have grown old and all of your teeth have fallen out. You cannot say 'Mayumi' because it's too difficult for you...**_

"God... Yumi!"

**_Eh? What's a Yumi?_ **

"Your nickname."

Though she was the most annoying living thing I had ever met, we were similar in certain ways.

Both of us did not like to use our real name.

* * *

I gasped involuntarily when the islands came in view.

**_Welcome to Japan._ **Yumi imitated the air-hostess's voice and manner of speaking, then laughed.

The view had never grown old. It made me gasp everytime I saw it. From up in the air, colours clashed and mingled, making a feast for the eyes. The cities looked... kinda tiny, I guess. It was a living testimony to the fact that we are, in reality, nothing if compared to the vast world we are a part of.

**_I have an idea._ **

I was thrown out of my musings, "What?"

**_Give up beyblading and become an artist. You are born for it._ **

It was in these kinds of situations that I wished I wasn't soul-tied to Mayumi.

Was it an accident, or did my parents really wanted it to happen? I shall never know. Their lips are sealed shut, as far as I'm concerned. They will never shout at me, order me about; never look at me with those emotionless eyes of theirs. But, they will also never speak again - never give the answers to the questions in my head. I would never know why all of that happened, never know why they treated their own daughter like that. I will never know what I meant for them. As for what they meant for me, well... I just don't know.

I still remember the suffocation, that feeling of being imprisoned- the sound of my heart beating loudly, echoing in my ears. It was a high-risk, unstable experimental setup anyway.

Then the life support system stopped working.

It was pure hell. I had felt as if I was drowning. If Yumi hadn't offered to help... I would have had choked to death.

Side effect? Our souls merged and now I am half Beyspirit, while she's half human. When I opened my eyes, the lab was totally deserted - and wrecked. Whoever had done it was sadistic enough to damage the life support system and leave me to die. I quietly slipped out of the lab, and after that...

Everything changed.

**. _.. kira... Akira... AKIRA!_**

I had completely spaced out. "Huh?"

**_Wake up! Where's your duffel bag?_ **

"Do you want to go back to your case?"

**_No... didn't you hear the announcement?_ **

"Hm... which one?"

**_The one which said that we are about to land!_ **

"Oh... "


	3. ~Remembrances~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artemis (Mayumi) is Akira's bitbeast, but being half human allows her to take on a human form, just like being half-beyspirit allows Akira to enter the spirit realm freely. I am telling this beforehand because then the story plot will not get complicated later on.

**_REMEMBRANCES_ **

_"Let it RIP! "_

_The silent forest seemed to echo with the sound of beyblades clashing with each other. The metallic sounds were soon hard to hear over the loud voices of the bladers feverishly urging their beyblades to give their best. As the attacks became more and more aggressive, snow began to get stirred up and a sudden blizzard interrupted the heated beybattle._

_"Darn it! " The male voice sounded frustrated, "Why the hell did all of this snow had to be flying about NOW? I was sooo close to winning! "_

_"Ride the Tide! " The other voice coolly commanded her bey with the hint of a smirk. The owner of the voice was slender and quite tall for her age. Her white hair hid the most of a black shock of hair near one side of her forehead, except where it peeked out over her left eye._ _She was wearing a blue and white tracksuit and black running shoes which now looked almost white, thanks to the snow sprayed on them. Her hair, reaching down to her shoulders, looked slightly untamed and was loosely held back by a black ribbon. A few white strands of hair escaped the ribbon and fell lightly over her right eye._

_"Eh? " Kai looked confused. Ride the Tide? Was that a new move? It sounded so lame..._

_Ayuri's crimson eyes twinkled with mischief as her beyblade vanished out of sight. Kai started looking around frantically, "Where did it go? "_

_"Well, you see Kai, " Crimson eyes met amethyst ones, " 'Ride the Tide' is not some new move. In reality, it is an English phrase meaning 'taking chances and making the most out of any situation'. " Kai's eyes widened in realization, "You mean..."_

_"Yes." She was not even the least bothered by the blizzard and was actually using it as a shield to defend herself against Kai's attacks. But, there was a catch. Kai's usual smirk returned, "However, Ayuri, the blizzard doesn't let you see your own bey, whereas my bey is right in front of me-which means that you can't even attack me, " He made a tsking sound, "What an amateur mistake! The blizzard will slow down your bey and it will finally stop. " Ayuri smiled at him, making him start._

_"What makes you think that I need to see my beyblade in order to attack yours? "_

_She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Kai's face fell. "Wh-what do you m-mean?" He stuttered._

_"Watch me. "_

_"You are bluffing! "_

_"Am I? "_

_"No... no one can attack without seeing where their bey is! It's... it's impossible. "_

_"Nothing's impossible. " On hearing her reply, Kai looked at her and saw her standing still, eyes closed and head tilted to one side. CLANG! He heard something metal hit his bey. Turning towards his bey, he just couldn't believe his eyes. Ayuri's bey looked like a blurry streak as it appeared out of nowhere, dealt a powerful blow to his bey and disappeared. This kept happening again and again. He tried to follow its movement. He tried to steer out of its way. But, each of his manoeuvres failed as the sleet and snow made it difficult to see. He could barely make out the outline of his competitor._

_Anything he tried to say was lost to the howling wind. Suddenly, his bey lost balance and came to a sudden stop, right in front of him. Ayuri opened her eyes to see utter disbelief written all over Kai's face. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but could sense his confusion. Sighing, she walked over to Kai._

_"Yes? "_

_"How? "_

_Ayuri rolled her eyes at Kai's eloquence. "The sound. " Kai looked at her quizzically. She explained, "Every bey has a whirring sound, right?" Kai nodded. "Well, every different bey has a different sound. " Sound? Kai was dumbstruck. Ayuri further added, "Like, a heavier bey has a deeper sound, but the lighter a bey is, the more it sounds like skidding. If you can commit these distinct sounds to your memory right at the beginning of the battle, you would just need to follow the source of the sound to know where it is. " Kai simply gaped at her. Finally, he found his voice, "A sound... defeated me? " Ayuri felt like smacking him. Obviously he cared A LOT about winning. Noting the look on his face, she shook her head and grabbed his right hand. Kai flinched and blushed a little, not expecting physical contact. She tried to ignore his reaction and pulled him forward. Just at the edge of the marked area for battle, she let go of his hand._

_"Listen closely."_

_Kai frowned, "To what? "_

_Ayuri resisted the temptation toroll her eyes, muttering something about a 'hidden genius'. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Can you hear your beyblade's whirring sound? "_

_Kai scrunched his face in concentration, then groaned, "No, but I can hear the howling wind really well. What's more, I can also hear it whispering that if we don't find shelter NOW, it will make me go deaf. "_

_"Concentrate Kai. Imagine your bey calling out to you."_

_Kai grunted, then tried again. He tried to imagine his bey calling out to him, whatever that meant. He started in surprise when he could hear its sound over the wind. It was loud and clear._

_"Why wasn't I able to hear such a loud sound before? "_

_"Because you weren't looking for it. "_

_"So... what now? "_

_"Put out your hand, palm first. "_

_"Done."_

_"_ _Call back your bey. "_

_The small practice bey leapt back into Kai's outstretched hand, "Done."_

_"Run for your life."_

_The blizzard_ _abated after an hour or so. Ayuri came out of their hiding place and frowned. They had taken shelter inside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. After the blizzard, the whole surroundings looked like a frozen wonderland. However, the snow was now almost knee-deep, she realized as she waded about in the snow. She looked back to see the slate-haired blader climb out. A part of her wanted to stay there and have some more beybattles with Kai, but common sense told her otherwise. They might come looking for her-after all they really can't afford her to be dead. Even though it was but a slim chance of them crossing that dreaded fence, she wasn't eager to find out._

_She looked at Kai, who was kicking at the snow grumpily. There was no denying it-Kai belonged to that Abbey her parents were always talking about, and by the sounds of it, they didn't seem to be friends by a long shot. If they found Kai, there was no limit to what they can do to him._

_"Bye." She spun on her heels and began walking away._

_"What! Wait there. " Kai walked, more like jogged over to her, "Where do you think you are going? "_

_"Back. They will be... worried. " More like royally pissed off._

_Kai glared disapprovingly at her, "Your little town won't miss you if you are late by an hour or so. After all, it WAS a big blizzard. "_

_Oh, right. Kai thought she was from the town nearby. Well, she wasn't in too much of a hurry to correct his mistake and tell him that she wasn't fortunate enough to live in that 'little town'._ _Also, she had a lingering feeling that if he knew where she lived, he would try to come visit, and she wasn't a great fan of that idea either._

_" do you want? " she demanded in a blunt fashion. As a rule, they always quarrelled heatedly over anything before agreeing on something else. Kai hadn't expected her to give in like that. His cheeks went a little pink. Ayuri noticed his reaction and looked at him oddly. Then_ _it struck her. She had not even put up a fight. It was almost as if she accepted him as a fr... Ayuri immediately abandoned that line of thought. She cleared her throat loudly, willing the rising blush on her cheeks to go away. "You." She pointed towards Kai, "Don't get any dumb ideas." Like being friends, she thought to herself. Kai snorted in reply, though his face was still flushed and wore a deer-in-headlights expression. Ayuri, on the other hand, mentally kicked herself for letting her guard down._

_They had always told her that friends were a hindrance;that friendship was in reality a weakness no true warrior should ever possess. Also... she wasn't really entitled to have friends- after all, she wasn't strong enough to protect them._

_She remembered the new cook, Maria, who was the first person to ever talk to her kindly and gently. She made her laugh, and also taught her some great recipes. She would have such happy escapades into the main kitchen whenever training took a great deal out of her. Then..._ _her parents got to know._

_The cook was kicked out of the household before her own eyes. She was not able to do anything. She knelt down and begged, she cried;yet she couldn't protect the only person who had ever treated her like a human being. The cook lost her livelihood because of her. She still remembered her father's emotionless voice whispering ominously into her ear as she looked at the slumped shoulders and retreating back of the cook with tearful eyes. "Friends hold you back;they are a hindrance. Be thankful, since this was your first time falling prey to such meaningless emotions, she was only fired. I trust this to be the last time as well, because if this happens again, the consequences for that person would be much more... dire." She had looked up in fear;she knew what he meant. Though it was unbelievable that he would go so far, she knew that he always followed up on his threats. He had sneered at her when he saw tears fall from her eyes, and his eyes had held nothing but disgust. She was punished that day for her failure in controlling herself and concealing her feelings. After that, she had promised herself that she would never cry before another person._

_Kai was the first to regain his composure. He shrugged in indifference. "I just want a rematch," He stated. Ayuri simply looked at him and said nothing._

_"It's a challenge." Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh come on, no true blader ever gives up on a challenge, especially, " he waved his bey in her face, "if it comprises of a beybattle." She felt her face break out into a smile but hurriedly changed it into a smirk._

_"Okay big guy - show me what you've got."_

_"What do you mean BIG? I'm only a year or two older than you."_

_"One or two years OLDER, right? "_

_"Point noted. Let's battle." Kai readied his bey and launcher, then he realized that the area was fully covered with snow. He quietly swore under his breath, looking around._

_"You swear A LOT Kai, do you know that? "_ _She received a deathly glare from Kai as a reply._

_"So, the great Kai is whining for a proper beystadium, huh? " Kai opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself when he saw a gleam in Ayuri's eyes. He got what she meant._

_"Hm, clever... you're on! "_

_Ayuri pretended to cower and look scared to death, then shrugged innocently, "Why scratch our heads for a proper battleground when we have got Mother Nature blooming all around us? "_

_"More like drooping and freezing." Kai mumbled to himself, noting the branches of the nearby trees bent low with the weight of the snow piling on them._

_"In 3, 2, 1... Let it RIP! "_

_The beys almost immediately skimmed over the snow and vanished into the woods. Kai looked hesitantly in Ayuri's direction to see her taking off after them. Confused, he ran after the snow-haired blader. Ayuri, as if sensing his confusion, turned back and grinned. "Beat me to the finish line, will ya?" Kai slightly smiled, "With pleasure. "_

_Both of the young bladers raced away into the snow-clad woods, none of them having any idea as to where the finish line might be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai seems slightly OOC in this chapter, but this has been done on purpose. All of us will agree on this idea that if not for his sadistic grandfather, Kai would have had a totally different personality. So, he must have had been more shy and expressive when he was a child.

**Author's Note:**

> Meanings of certain Japanese words:
> 
> Akira - First name meaning 'bright, clear dawn'. Also, cuts close to the Russian first name Kira meaning 'ruler' or 'leader of the people'. (Impressive, huh?)
> 
> Baka - Idiot (ouch!)
> 
> Mayumi - First name meaning 'true bow', or 'archery'.
> 
> Yumi - First name meaning 'bow'. (yeah...It literally is the short form of Mayumi)


End file.
